Android smartphones are not typically updated very frequently, leaving many owners to either try and update their own device, or wait for months or even years to get the latest operating system. The technical lead developer on the Android Open Source Project believes the slow update rate many Android users have had to endure is “very reasonable.” Sometimes, Jean-Baptiste Queru revealed his opinion on his Google+ page in a congratulatory post towards Sony, who recently updated its Tablet S to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The developer said the Japanese company was the biggest contributor to Android, leaving all other manufacturers playing catch-up. Due to its contributions, Sony is able to ensure timely updates for its own devices, while helping the community as a whole. Queru said the complexity of moving from Android 3.0 to Android 4.0 is the reason it took Sony five-months to updates its tablet.

“This is actually a very reasonable time, since under the hood Ice Cream Sandwich is quite different from Honeycomb (and upgrades from Gingerbread are likely to take longer as those differences are huge),” he said.

The employee did express disappointment that some of Google’s own flagship devices had not been updated, and he places the blame on “operator approvals.” Queru went out to praise Google’s latest effort to continue selling smartphones directly to consumers through its online store. “I’m very glad that Google is back in the business of selling phones directly without any middlemen to interfere, and I’ll be even happier when I see that program expanded to more countries.” More →

Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is now available for just $399 without a contract from Google’s online Google Play store. Contract-free smartphones are typically much more expensive — the iPhone 4S, for example, starts at $649 without a carrier contract in the U.S. The flagship Google phone was unveiled last October, but it didn’t launch on Verizon Wireless until mid-December last year. Despite its age, however, the Galaxy Nexus can still hold its own in the current smartphone market. Spec highlights include a 4.65-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and GSM/HSPA compatibility with both AT&T and T-Mobile. Though the HTC One X and One S are now available internationally and Samsung is on the verge of announcing its next-generation Galaxy S III smartphone, the Galaxy Nexus is still a great handset at this price. More →

Sprint’s highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus is no longer available for pre-order after initial stock sold out this week. Pre-order availability began just this past Monday, and Sprint’s pre-sales launch inventory was depleted by Thursday evening. It is difficult to gauge demand since the number of Galaxy Nexus handsets Sprint had allocated for pre-sales is unknown, but a source told BGR that “pre-sales supply was healthy” ahead of the device’s launch on April 22nd. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus features a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display with 720p resolution, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 5-megapixel rear camera, 32GB of internal storage, NFC and 4G LTE connectivity, though Sprint’s LTE network has not yet launched. The Galaxy Nexus is not compatible with Sprint’s current 4G WiMAX network.

Sprint on Monday announced the availability of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Android 4.0 handset can be pre-ordered today and will be available beginning Sunday, April 22nd for $199.99 with a new two-year agreement. “Galaxy Nexus is a beautifully designed smartphone that combines the Pure Google experience with the speed of Sprint’s upcoming 4G LTE network,” said Fared Adib, Sprint’s vice president of product development. “It represents the cutting-edge features and applications that customers expect and pairs perfectly with Sprint’s unlimited data plans to let our customers enjoy their wireless experience without worrying about overage charges or throttling.” As an extra bonus, Sprint is offering customers who register a Google Wallet account within a week of activating their devices a $10 instant credit, along with an additional $40 of credit to be delivered within three weeks. Customers who pre-order the Galaxy Nexus will begin receiving the device as early as Friday, April 20th. Read on for Sprint’s press release. More →

Sprint’s version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus may launch on April 22nd according to a purported internal document obtained by The Verge. In terms of hardware, the handset is identical to the Verizon Wireless version, however Sprint customers will have access to Google Wallet. The internal document also points to Sprint’s first 4G LTE phone being the LG Viper, which will be available just ahead of the Galaxy Nexus on April 15th. The handset features a 4-inch WVGA display with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 5-megapixel rear camera. The Viper comes equipped with an NFC chip and will also have Google Wallet access as well. Sprint’s LTE network is expected to launch in mid-2012 in San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. More →

Samsung Galaxy Nexus user Sahas Katta found himself thrust into the technology news cycle recently after he allegedly smoked a Windows Phone but was denied his prize. Katta took part in a Microsoft contest that asked users of Android phones, iPhones or any other smartphone to compete against a Microsoft store employee with a Windows Phone in one of several challenges. When Katta won his challenge by upstaging a Windows Phone with his Galaxy Nexus, Microsoft store employees are said to have cheated him out of his prize. Read on for more. More →

After learning about Microsoft’s latest “Smoked by Windows Phone” challenge, Sahas Katta visited his local Microsoft store equipped with confidence and his trusty Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The Windows Phone challenge is issued to users with non-Windows Phone handsets, and it calls for these users to perform a variety of tasks faster than a Microsoft store sales associate armed with a Windows Phone. Microsoft was rewarding 10 winners a limited edition Hunger Games PC (HP Folio 13 Special Edition) valued at $1,049.00, and challengers who lose are given the option to trade in their current smartphone for an unlocked Windows Phone device. After waiting for his turn to challenge an employee, Katta’s task was to “bring up the weather of two different cities.” Katta smirked, knowing he had two weather widgets on his home screen. Victory was all but certain, until the employee proclaimed victory “just because.” Read on for more. More →

Google announced at the Mobile Money: Delivering Innovative Mobile Payment Services panel during Mobile World Congress that Sprint will introduce “at least 10 additional phones” with Google Wallet support in 2012, Fierce Mobile Content reported on Thursday. The Samsung Nexus S 4G is the only smartphone currently offered by the carrier that supports Google’s NFC mobile payment system. Both the Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper will launch with Wallet support later this year, however, and Osama Bedier, vice president of Google Wallet and Payments, said Google is continuing talks with other carriers, device manufacturers, banks, financial service providers and point-of-sale technology vendors to further extend the company’s Wallet network. More →

LG, which was once a leading player in the mobile space, has yet to make a real splash in the Android era of smartphones. The company is looking to change that, however, with the next Google Nexus device. “We’re heavily in discussions,” the head of LG’s smartphone division Ramchan Woo said in an interview with CNET. “We’re working on it.” Google’s partners have been concerned that the company will let Motorola, which it recently acquired, get access to the latest Android updates before other vendors. Partnering with LG would stem speculation that the search giant is playing favorites, although Woo warned that there has not been any commitment made thus far. Read on for more. More →

The popular third-party software keyboard Swype has been updated to support Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Swype is an app that uses word prediction in combination with swiping motions to allow users to quickly write emails, text messages, tweets and anything else that requires text input. The software is still not available in the Android Market, unfortunately, and it must be downloaded from the company’s website. Though the software is currently in beta stages for Android 4.0, users have yet to report any major issues. More →

Samsung has reportedly canceled plans to launch a new version of its Galaxy Nexus smartphone. The South Korea-based consumer electronics giant had plans to release an updated version of its pure-Google GSM phone that included 32GB of internal storage, but major retail partner Expansys says Samsung has informed it that production of the new handset has been canceled. “We’ve just been notified this morning that Samsung have dropped the Galaxy Nexus 32GB from production,” an Expansys spokesman posted to the xda-developers forum on Tuesday. “At this time it looks like they will not be releasing it.” BGR reviewed the Galaxy Nexus last November and called it our “favorite Android device in the world.” The sleek smartphone features a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED 720p HD display, a 5-megapixel camera, NFC and Google Wallet support, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. More →

Two recently uncovered security exploits concerning Google Wallet have left users questioning just how safe the product really is. A security firm exposed a vulnerability last week that allowed hackers to bypass PIN protection, but it was only present on rooted devices. A second exploit, however, did not require a handset to be rooted, leaving all Google Wallet users exposed. By wiping stored Google Wallet data from within a device’s settings, an unauthorized user will be able to access a user’s prepaid funds without needing to know his or her Google Wallet pin. The company has acknowledged both security exploits, and it now says Google Wallet is safe and “offers advantages over the plastic cards and folded wallets in use today.” Read on for more. More →